Absence Makes the Heart Grow Founder
by daddysgirl
Summary: What if you were allowed to tell the person you’ve pinned for that they mean everything to you and that you don’t go a day with out thinking about them? AU Trory.
1. Hand Written Notes and Invitations

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. I don't even own this computer, it's my mothers. I also don't own the title to this story, it's a cliché line used all the time.

A/N: I came up with this story after a brief chat with someone I knew in high school who I guess you could say I was in love with, still am as a matter of fact but can't do anything about it now, so I decided to let someone else have a second chance at their high school love.

Summery: _What if you were given a second chance at love? What if you were allowed to tell the person you've pinned for that they mean everything to you and that you don't go a day with out thinking about them? What if someone you never thought you'd see again suddenly came back into your life? Would you take a chance on something that doesn't seem real or do you run? _

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Founder

I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as I drove the familiar old roads of my hometown. I hadn't been back in 2 years, yet I could still navigate my way through Hartford with my eyes closed. I was away at school all year and we'd always vacation somewhere far away, exotic and completely dull each summer. It's strange to think that this was where I spent each and every one of my days. This town seems so small, so meaningless, yet it was my world.

I played with the radio a little trying to ease my nerves by finding a song that didn't completely repulse me, before giving up completely and getting lost in my own thoughts of her. I never thought I'd see her again, I had wanted to call her, to see her, just to be near her for such a long time but that was all foolish. I didn't deserve the time of day from her. I ran my hand through my hair, or lack there off, I hadn't had the need to do that in a long time but being back home a day and already I miss the calm that motion brought on. I pulled into the already jam-packed parking lot and drove around aimlessly looking for a spot. I found one in the way back, and turning off my car I reached over for the invitation that came in the mail just days before.

The envelope didn't have a return address; it was plain white, neat cursive on the front, and addressed to me. Hoping that it wasn't a letter telling me I had fathered a child and now they wanted money from me years later, I opened it slowly. I saw an invitation to Chilton's Commencement ceremonies in honor of the class of 2003. On the back of the invitation there was a sticky note that simply read: "Here's your chance to win back the girl. Don't let it pass you by." No name, no indication of who it could be from, no recollection of this handwriting.

I played with the invitation for a while before taking a deep breath and walking towards the halls of Chilton. The school must pride itself on being so menacing. Was all I thought as I walked inside and headed in the direction the signs pointed me to. My heart rate picked up as each step I took brought me closer to her. They say that absence makes the heart grow founder, but if I my heart grew any founder it might explode at any moment. I missed her more than I let anyone, including myself believe and all I wanted to do was be able to see her.

Talking to her would be nice but I decided to take on one battle at a time. I choose a seat in the back hoping against hope that no one would recognize me. As the ceremony began I scanned the group of black gowns until I saw her, my breath caught in my throat and it was all I could do to keep myself from forgetting how to breathe. She looked radiant and I couldn't take my eyes off of her for the rest of the ceremony. She was a shoe in for valedictorian, there was no doubt about that, the fact that Paris hadn't personally killed her for taking away that title was a completely different story.

The ceremony ended to quickly for my liking as I was presented with the Chilton Class of 2003, and for the first time in a very long time I realized that this should have been my graduation, my class, my celebration. I let it go though as I fought the inner battle with myself of talking to her or leaving before anyone noticed I was here. I might never get this opportunity again I told myself, as I walked towards the crowd of people all hugging each other, taking pictures, and crying with family and friends. All of a sudden a heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Tristan DuGrey, nice of you to grace us with your presence."

"Paris Geller, always a pleasure." I smiled down at the blonde for a moment. "So I believe congratulations are in order."

"You could say that." She replied nodding her head. "The question is, are you congratulating me on graduating or on the fact that I graduated with out killing anyone one or being sent to an asylum?" She grinned at me.

"A little bit of Colum A, a little bit of Colum B." I gave her a hug and turned around about to walk away before she stopped me again.

"Talk to her Tristan, second chances only come around once in a great while." She smiled at me before walking towards a group of people who spoke in rapid Spanish. I turned towards the direction I was originally going in when I spotted her hugging her mother, and another man. They were all talking excitedly when I saw her grab her phone and answering it walking away from her family and friends. I followed her, trying to get by unnoticed so that I didn't lose this precious opportunity.

I didn't hear her conversation just saw the heart broken look on her face as she closed the phone in her hand and slumped against the wall. She looked crushed, and heart broken, and lost. I knew that look because I swore I wore it for the past two years. I took a deep breath and headed towards her.

Her eyes were closed as she shook her head as if to free herself from thought about whoever was on the phone.

"Rory"

Her eyes shot open as she heard her own name, her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings before landing on me. Her gaze flickered up and down me before coming to rest on my face. "Tristan?" Her voice was soft, full of disbelief and confusion.

"Hi." I felt like a moron I couldn't come up with anything to say to her. I was having a hard time believing she was actually in front of me and wasn't running away yet.

"Hi, what are you doing here?" She asked.

I had no idea what I was doing there except for the fact that I came to see her but I couldn't very well open with that because that would just freak her out. It was a bit t0o stalker-ish to go over well.

"I thought it would be appropriate to come to my old schools graduation. I mean I spent a lot of time with these fine people, and I um… have known some of them since kindergarten if not before. Some I mean, I'm surprised certain ones managed to graduate at all to tell you the truth. Although I'm sure if they were that close to not graduating their parents would take care of it, or maybe they got really good tutors, and…"

"Tristan!"

"What?"

"You're not making any sense."

I think I might have blushed or at least I felt like I should have been blushing at that point. "I got an invitation from Paris to come. So I did."

"Well, whatever the reason it's good to see you." She smiled at me before her eyes caught something in the distance and she nodded her head quickly before focusing her attention on me again. "Sorry to cut this short, my mom is beckoning me over. Probably more pictures of her wearing this lovely hat." She smiled with a shrug holding her hat up as a prop. "Once again it was nice seeing you." With a wave she started walking away.

"Rory!" I didn't know what made me do it but I knew I didn't want her to walk out of my life again.

"Yeah?" She asked turning around quickly.

"Congratulations on graduating and becoming valedictorian and all that." Coward!

"Thanks… you too, on graduating. See you." She turned away again.

"Rory?" I called again, wow this is going well.

"Yes?" She asked again, turning around to look at me.

"Would you…do you… umm… do you want to grab a cup of coffee sometime, to catch up?"

She looked down at the phone she was holding and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her other hand. She seemed to be formulating an answer, or decision of some kind. "My mom and I are going to Europe…"

"Oh, okay then, well not a problem I'll be seeing you." I started to turn away as I felt something swelling in my throat constricting my ability to breath.

"Tristan!" I turned back around so fast my head started spinning. "My mom and I are going to Europe in a week, I'd love to grab a cup of coffee with you, just make sure you call me within the week."

"Can I get your number?" I asked in a daze, not quite sure what had just happened I registered myself pulling out my cell phone and handing it over to her to program it in. "Thanks, I'll make sure to definitely get a hold of you before you go."

"Sounds like a plan. I've got to run now, see you!" With that she turned around for the final time and jogged away towards her mom.

This would defiantly prove to be interesting assuming I didn't completely screw it up. But on the bright side at least she didn't slap me, or run away crying, right?


	2. Follow Up Questions

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews. Here's the next installment. Enjoy!

_Chapter 2: Follow up questions._

I looked around me wondering the best way to get away with out being noticed. The last think I wanted at that moment was to get pulled into a conversation that would inevitably be awkward, and I didn't want to be talking to those people anyway. This was a chapter in my life that I didn't want to revisit. I walked around the back of the school taking the longest way around the school possible. It was kind of nice, a relaxing time to reflect on the fact that I had just gotten Rory Gilmore's phone number with out any noticeable gag reflex on her part. I played with the phone in my pocket, taking a deep breath I got in my car and stared at the steering wheel for a while. I finally turned the car on and drove towards my house.

_I have to try and not to screw up this time. This means too much, I mean Paris had a point, how often do second chances come around? I haven't been able to give up on the idea of me and Rory being together in over 2 years, it's clearly more than me just wanting a piece of ass. I need her to understand that I care about her; I want to be with her so badly. I just need to take it slow, and earn her trust, and see where it goes from there. I don't expect her to just fall in love with me after one coffee date. Wow, I've missed her I think she got even more beautiful in the last two years. I just need to take it slow… she looked so heart broken after that phone call she probably isn't ready to deal with a new relationship straight off the bat, I just need to be there for her. More importantly I won't just be the rebound guy; I want to be with her. Slowly, I just need to go slowly. _

I didn't really even pay attention to the road and before I realized I was pulling into the garage. I made my way to my room and fell onto my bed. Pulling out my cell phone I stared at looking at her number over and over until the numbers were pretty much ingrained in my mind. I had never had the need to call a girl as soon as I got her number until this very moment. I used to be very set on the three day calling rule, however at this very moment it took all of my strength not to hit send. I rolled over on my side and closed my eyes. _ Maybe if I take a nap it'll get my mind off of her. Yeah. Right. _

I walked into a coffee shop in Hartford and sat down at a table facing the door. She should be here any moment, but the drive for her is farther than it is for me. I saw her walk in a few minutes after me, she scanned the coffee shop before seeing me and walking over. She gave me a hug, one that I quickly reciprocated holding her close to me.

"How have you been?" She asked as we walked towards the counter.

"I've been good. I graduated from military school, which automatically makes everything that much better."

"You didn't like it?"

"It's hard to like having someone yelling at you 24 hours a day, and the 5 am morning jogs. It was good for me, but I have no desire to relive that experience."

"Well at least it's over."

We got our coffee and sat down at a booth; she sat down next to me and turned to face me. "There's something I've wanted to do." She mumbled as she leaned over and kissed me running her hands through my hair. I cupped the side of her face and pulled her closer kissing her back as well.

_I cannot believe this is actually happening, I'm actually kissing Rory! _

I pulled away and looked at her, she was smiling at me and I couldn't help but smile back as I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"TRISTAN!"

I woke up with a start as I took in my surroundings: my room, my bed, my clothing from today. _Fuck! That was all a dream! _I lay my head back on my pillow and glared at nothing and everything. Why do these dreams continue to taunt me?

"TRISTAN!" I heard yelling echoing through the house, the voice that pulled me from my wildest fantasies. I got up and opened the door, before I knew it a blonde blur flew at me. I picked her up and spun her around. "I missed you!" she squealed.

"I missed you too Tegan." I set her down. She had grown since I last saw her. My younger sister who was now 14 stood tall at 5'5" with long flowing blonde hair and sharp blue e yes. Tegan was gorgeous, no doubt about it, I'd have to fight off the boys with a stick with this one. Karma surely is a bitch.

"When did you get home?"

"Late last night, you were already asleep, and by the time I woke up you were gone."

"What are you doing the rest of the day?"

"Nothing, avoiding dad otherwise I've got nothing planned."

"Want to go see a movie?" She asked her eyes getting wide and pleading.

"Sure thing, let me just get changed really quickly, I'm a little to dressed up for a movie theater."

I walked into my closet as I heard her sit down on my bed bouncing back on it. "Where did you go today?"

"Chilton graduation,"

"Why?"

"I just wanted to see my old class graduate, that's all. Plus, Paris sent me an invitation."

"You went to see her didn't you?" She asked inquisitively.

"I might have." I walked back out in jeans and a t-shirt. "Although it's not your concern either way Tee. What movie do you want to go see?" I grabbed my wallet and my keys and ushered her out of my room.

"You never tell me anything about her!"

"Well I'm not grilling you about your boyfriends, I could start though. I could wait for them every time they came to pick you up and ask them personal questions that will make them very uncomfortable. Then I'd—"

"Okay, I get the point! However, if you start bringing her home I'm aloud to ask questions."

"Okay, fine, the second you see Rory _in this house_ you can ask her questions."

"Works for me, now let's go check movie listings!"

_Now at least I don't have to think about Rory, this will give me some time to focus on other things. Like the movie, and my sister, and things that in no way will have to do with one Rory Gilmore. My lord I'm boarder line obsessive. _

"Tristan does that sounds good?"

"Huh? What?"

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes, you have my undivided attention, now what were you saying?" Tegan shook her head at me, pointing out the movie she wanted to see and I nodded my agreement. "Let's go munchkin," I said wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

"I don't think I count as a munchkin any more I'm almost your height." She said sticking her tongue out at me.

"Keep dreaming little sis, the second you hit six two then we'll talk."

"You're only six one though," she replied shrugging away from me in a fake huff.

"Yes, but for you to no longer be a munchkin you'd have to be taller than me now wouldn't you?" I grinned.

"You suck," was her only reply as she climbed into my Porsche. "Can I have your car when I turn sixteen?" She asked.

"Take that up with dad, you can have this car if I get a new one. Although I'm sure he'll buy you something more suitable for a young lady like a BMW or a Volvo or something."

"That's so not fair."

I just laughed good naturedly at my sister as I sped off towards the movie theater.

"Tegan, I need to ask you a question, you can't however ask any leading questions, any follow up questions, or use this against me ever again."

"Uhh – okay." She replied giving me a confused look as she turned around in her seat to look at him.

"If you were leaving in a week, and you gave a guy your phone number – which you better not do until you're at least forty years old- would a day later seem to sudden to receive a call?"

"Well, are you calling her to talk or to set up a meeting before she leaves?"

"The latter"

"A day is fine only because you need to meet up and if you call in 3 days that gives you a tighter schedule to plan a get together especially if she's leaving and needs to get ready."

"Thanks Tee."

"Who—"

"Nope, no follow up questions." I said grinning as I covered her mouth with my hand. She stuck her tongue out licking my hand to get it off her mouth. "That's gross." I muttered as I wiped my hand on my jeans.

-

The next day I woke up at around ten with the sun shinning in my room. It was a hard habit to break, the five am wake ups but it was a nice one to break all at once. I changed into some basketball shorts and a t-shirt and went for a run. I guess some things do stick with you. The run felt good though, it gave me a chance to clear my head and focus on other things, like the feeling of my feet hitting the pavement and the constricting in my chest. I got to concentrate on my breathing instead of Rory Gilmore for at least an hour. I got home and took a long shower; I changed into some khaki shorts and a clean shirt before sitting down on my bed holding the cell phone. Her phone number was mocking me, I could feel it. Finally after taking a deep breath I hit the send button and listened to the ringing. I so badly wanted her to pick up the phone, and at the same time dreaded her answering it.

_Hey, this is Rory, I can't come to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you! Thanks, bye! _

Damn it. "Hey, uhh Rory this is Tristan. I was just calling about the cup of coffee but I guess you're busy so give me a call back when you get the chance. My number is 555-7679. Thanks."

_Now this is all up to her, damn it what if she doesn't call back. What if she never checks her voicemails? Well at least she gave me the right number, and I didn't end up calling some man named Butch who would attempt to kill me. This is all too stressful, she's just a girl; Just – a – girl. If she is just a girl though, why do I have to keep reminding myself of that? _

The ringing of my phone brought me back from my thoughts and I didn't even check the screen as I flipped it open.

"Hi?"

"Hi, Tristan? This is Rory."

"Oh Rory, hey, how are you." _Holy crap she's actually calling me back. Wow what happened to me this isn't the first time a girl has called me. Two years spent with guys was not good for my dating skills. _

"You called? Sorry I was in the shower and I just saw the missed call."

"Oh don't worry about it. How was your graduation party?"

"It was fun, just a bunch of the people from stars-hollow, lots of food, and Ms. Patty's famous Party Punch."

"Sounds great!" Her small town always intrigued me mostly because their influence was what formed Rory.

"It was." I swear I heard her smile over the phone.

"So I called to see when you'd like to go for coffee? I know you're probably really busy packing and everything but—"

"Oh, I'm not…busy that is, we're back-packing so we aren't bringing to much stuff with us. I'm actually free later this afternoon if you wanted to meet up. I mean if you don't have anything going on, I realize it's a bit short notice."

"Oh no, I'm free, defiantly free." _Wow I sound so cool now._ "How about two o'clock at Java's in Hartford?"

"Yeah, that sounds great I know exactly where that is."

"Great, I look forward to seeing you there than."

"Yeah me too, bye."

"Bye."

This would surely prove to me an interesting day. On the bright side though she called back so she doesn't completely hate me. Good... this is good.


	3. New Beginnings

_Chapter 3: What's a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?_

"So last I knew you were Harvard bound is that still the case?" I asked her as she cradled the steaming mug of coffee in her hands.

"No, actually I'm going to Yale in the fall."

"What made you change your mind then?"

"There was a lot going into that decision, I'm a legacy to begin with, its closer to my mom, my grandparents really wanted me to go there, and it had just as much to offer if not more than Harvard did, then there might have been the consideration of a boy, but that's not really an issue any more." She smiled, one of those sad, heart breaking smiles that draw you in and just make you wish you could make everything better. "I'm happy with my choice, and I'm sure I'll be happy there as well."

I nodded back at her, I was ready to agree with everything she said to me at this point.

"Where are you going to school?"

"Oh," I didn't even think she'd ask about me and this question through my off guard. "Yale, legacy and all that jazz."

"Well that's exciting. I already know one person there at least!" She smiled brightly at me.

"Here I though I'd be the last person you'd want to hang out with!"

"Well I'm here now aren't I?" She replied with an inclination of her head. "You're not _too _bad as long as you just sit there and look pretty."

"I knew you wanted my body." I couldn't help it, the comment slipped out before I even knew it had happened and I watched her reaction in case I had to make a dash for the door to follow her.

She smiled back at me tilting her head to the side, "I didn't realize that your name was Brad Pitt, 'cause I want _his_ body. Yours is…_alright_ I guess." She replied narrowing her eyes as she pretended to scrutinize my appearance.

As insane as it sounds it took me forever to get dressed for this meeting, I felt like a girl! I just haven't had the option to pick out an outfit in a rather long time and now that I did I felt like I didn't even know what I was supposed to wear. Finally I just grabbed a graphic fitted t-shirt, some worn in jeans, and a hat. I felt like such a loser standing in front of my closet who spends that long getting ready? Rory, on the other hand, looked breath taking. Her long hair was down and flowing she was in a tan t-shirt and a jean skirt with some flip flops. I had rarely seen her out of her uniform and I almost melted when she walked in, pulling her sun glasses on top of her head. I was half expecting her not to show up.

"You still with me?" She asked waving her hand in front of her face. I shook my head and focused my attention back on her.

"Sorry," I replied quickly giving her a charming smile, "just thinking."

"About what?" She questioned.

"Chilton," She titled her head as a confused expression took over her features. "I was a jerk to you Rory; you didn't deserve any of it. I'm sorry for the way I acted in high school. I was stupid and horny and shouldn't have treated you the way I did."

"Wow" She took a sip of her drink making a face when she realized that it had gotten cold. "It's okay. It was years ago."

"It's not okay; nothing gave me the right to treat you like that."

She smiled at me again, I love her smile. "Tristan, I forgive you. It's in the past lets just start over okay?"

I stared at her in shock I couldn't believe she was actually doing this! "Yeah that sounds good."

"Okay than!" with that she stood up and briskly walked towards the door and outside. I looked at the door in confusion, she had left all her things so clearly she wasn't running away but—just then the door opened and she reentered the café. She looked over at me and walked slowly towards the table. She planted her hands on the table and gave me a once over. "What's a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?" She asked with a wink.

"Uhh…" At that exact moment I think my heart stopped beating and my brain stopped functioning.

"I'm Rory!" She stated in what I assumed was her attempt at a mock seducing voice.

"Tristan," I stammered out taking the hand she held out and bringing it to my lips brushing them softly against her knuckles before letting go. Her eyes widened in shock but she quickly recovered.

"How about this sailor, I'll let you buy me a coffee and you can regale me with all your journeys out on the sea."

Smirking at her I stood up and walked over to the counter to buy her an iced coffee. As I walked back over I set it next to her as I leaned over her shoulder. "How about instead of talking I take you for the ride of your life out on the high seas?" I whispered in her ear as I saw goose bumps appear on her arm as I walked back towards my seat.

"Oh! DISNEY LAND?" she asked excitedly taking a sip of her drink.

"So tell me about your trip to Europe?" I got lost in her eyes and her voice as she went into a description of the upcoming trip, what her and her mom planned on doing and seeing. She talked animatedly about how long they were planning on taking this trip and how she's been planning it since grade school. My God this woman was amazing.

We sat in the coffee shop for another hour before she casually glanced in the direction of my watch. "Shoot! What time is it?"

"Uh 4:45."

"Shoot, I was supposed to be at my grandmother's house at 4!" She quickly gathered her stuff and practically ran out the door, I followed her wanting to at least say goodbye. Turning around as she got to her car door the look on her face was as if she just remembered I was still there. She seemed to slow down momentarily.

"It was really great seeing you again Tristan." She reached over and gave me a hesitant hug. I hugged her back holding on a second longer than the normal "just friends" length hug. She pulled away slowly smiling up at me. "We'll defiantly need to hang out when we're at Yale. That is, if you want to." She said a little shyly.

"I defiantly would want to." I replied smiling.

"Good. Well I'll see you then." She stated as she opened her car door and started putting her stuff in her car.

"Yeah, see you." I replied not wanting her to leave just yet.

"Oh, and Tristan?" She called sticking half her body out of the car.

"Yeah?"

"I'm still in town for five days." With a wink she got into her car and sped off towards her grandmothers.

"I think that was an opening." I said to myself before I slowly got into my car.

I drove around Hartford for a little bit trying to clear my head as I thought over what had just happened. Unconsciously I had driven to my old haunt, a place around town that I would go to just to reflect on everything that's going on; a calm area away from the ciaos that had once been my life. It was a secluded section of Hartford, you had to park about half a mile away from the clearing since they hadn't paved roads there, not yet anyway. It was a pond with a dock that you could walk out on and sit on the edge of and contemplate just about anything. I got lost in my thoughts as the day washed over me; I lay back on the dock and watched as the clouds shifted shapes.

_I wonder if Rory would like it here. Should I even bring her out here? I haven't brought anyone here, ever. I have always wanted to share this with her though, the different side of me she never got to know. That's cliché right? A heartthrob is really sensitive and a good person at heart but for some reason can't act that way around everyone else? I mean t hat plot line has only been used in each and every chick- flick known to man, or should I say, woman. More than anything I want her to understand that I'm not just in it for the game, if I was my feelings for her would have faded in the past two years. They didn't though; they stayed there with me through each additional push-up in the mud, in the rain, in the heat, each extra mile I had to run I thought about her; her laugh, her smile, her eyes, her wit. This is pathetic and I feel pathetic thinking like this but what's left? I tried being cocky, confident, I even took Paris on date, Jesus, what more was there? This was it, the final shot at the girl, and if I didn't get her than maybe I just need to move on because this wallowing in self-pity shit I've put myself through for the past 3 years of my life is becoming slightly ridiculous. We're going to be in college, she was going to Yale of all places so maybe the stars are starting to align, even just a little bit. None of this 'just friends' game though, I'm tired as all hell of hiding my feels from her. I'm tired of playing games to get what I want. She's going to know my intentions from the very beginning. I want her, I want to be with her, hell, I just want to try being with her! _

My phone vibrated in my pocket and it took me a few moments to knock me out of the trance like state I was in. After realizing what the strange sensation in my pocket actually was I reached in and flipped open my phone. It was a text from none other than one Rory Gilmore.

- Tristan, meeting with grandparents ended sooner than anticipated. You're probably busy but if you're not would you like to meet up for dinner?

Rory

I could barley believe my eyes and I scanned the text a couple more times before hitting reply.

- Sounds like a plan, meet me at Mamasan's in 15.

Tristan

I almost ran the half mile to my car, not like half a mile was significant to me anymore, I ran for so many miles during military school that I lost track of how many miles we had run, how many hours we spent in the cold, the rain, the snow. All I knew was the rhythm of our feet hitting the ground and the dull ache in my legs, but that faded away into oblivion. I didn't think she'd text me, not so soon after our last encounter, in fact I barley thought she'd want to meet up with me again. This was becoming too much, I'd get used to being able to see her during this week and then she'd be gone for two whole months. While I would be stuck with my _darling_ parents here in lovely Hartford, assuming I didn't get dragged to some tropical resort half way around the world. At least that would be a distraction, at least for a while, from the lack of Rory in my life.

I made it to Mamasan's in record time and attempted to get my heart to start beating at regular intervals again. I took a deep breath and stepped out of my car heading towards the main door and casually leaning against the frame as I waited for her to come. I had to make it seem like this was no big deal, like my heart wasn't about to beat out of my chest. I finally saw her car pull up next time mine as she gathered her things and got out of the car, swinging her purse over her shoulder she practically ran towards the restaurant.

"I think I'm going to die of hunger!" She exclaimed as she came to a halt in front of me. She grinned nervously at me seemingly shocked at her own boldness and rather loud confession.

"Good thing we've come to such a lovely establishment that happens to have food. I opened the door and ushered her in.

"Two?"

I nodded at the hostess as she seated us and handed us our menus. Rory quickly hid behind hers trying to decided what to get, I however set mine on the table and observed her momentarily as she was clearly torn in her decision. She kept tucking her hair behind her ears, and biting her lower lip as she seemingly scanned the same two page spread for the umpteenth time. She glanced up at me all of a sudden and frowned in my direction.

"Why aren't you looking at your menu?" She asked her eyes quickly darting back to her own menu as she seemed to remember that she still had a rather large decision to make.

"I know what I want to order." I replied with a small smirk.

"Did you memorize their menu in your spare time?" She asked her face still hidden behind the menu.

"No, I just happen to get the same thing every time I come here."

"That's boring." She said finally looking over the top of the menu to stick her tongue out at me.

"I prefer the quite slow life. I did live down south for the past two years."

"I somehow feel that military school was everything but slow and quite."

"Minor detail Gilmore, just because military school was fast paced and crazy doesn't mean the rest of North Carolina moved at such a rapid pace. And they do occasionally let you out of your cell for good behavior." I felt my lips turn up into a smirk before I even registered that I wanted to smirk, it was all so natural with her. The waiter came over to us shortly after that exchange and it looked like Rory was still torn in her choices. "I'd like the chicken spring rolls and the Vietnamese Pad Thai with chicken and a Pepsi."

The waiter nodded and turned his attention to Rory. "Uhh okay umm, I'll have the Cashew chicken and the wonton soup and some spring rolls and a Pepsi as well. Thank You." The waiter nodded again and walked away.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it?"

"Yes! I wanted about half of the menu just then, and to have to narrow it down, now that's just cruel and unusual punishment!" She pouted at me for a moment before leaning back in her seat.

"So how was the meeting with the grandparents?"

"Good, just finalizing some things about Yale before mom and I leave."

"Sounds thrilling"

"You have no idea." The waiter came over with our drinks and she took a sip. "Mmm caffeine!" She practically lit up after having some. "How I love thee, let me count the ways."

"You know, you're a lot different than I thought you would be."

"How so?"

"Well, I just I don't know, you seemed so serious all the time at school, like you were afraid of having fun, or really enjoying the time you spent there."

"It wasn't the easiest thing to do when you were there. You didn't make it easy; Paris didn't make it easy, and then trying to catch up. The school pretty much was a huge weight on my shoulders. I never really got to let loose, have fun, or let go when I was really there. That's why I'm really looking forward to college, the ability to really be myself with out past pretenses or expectations of the way I should act."

"I know all about that." He said raising his cup of soda to her in a mock toast.

"Do you?" she asked skeptically raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, imagine spending your entire life with the people at Chilton, all of them expecting you to act a certain way, be a certain person, and do certain things. Don't get me wrong, I liked that life – before I knew any better. I thought that I was supposed to be doing those things, acting that way. I know better now but my old friends, if we're going to call them that, won't really understand that. They didn't get the chance to get out of the Hartford elite, to take a step back and look at it from an outside perspective. If anything military school was the best thing that ever happened to me just because I got to see my life, my former life, for what it really was."

She raised her cup at me and tilted it towards me. "To new beginnings"

"New beginnings" I replied and touched my cup to hers before taking a sip out of it.


	4. You Can’t Say No if there’s No Question

_Chapter 4: You Can't Say No if there's No Question._

Its weird how quickly Rory and I fell into a comfortable friendship, after dinner we went to grab some ice cream and walk along the promenade in Hartford. We talked about almost everything imaginable with out a single awkward lull in the conversation. It was weird for me I had never been out with a girl, even as just a friend, who he could talk to. The girls I hung out with, dating or otherwise always ended up talking about gossip, or what shoes they had bought that day, boring me to the point were making out with them seemed like the only option that didn't involve me stabbing myself in the face. Rory had something that drew me to her, her smile, her laugh, her ability to know just about everything about any topic mentioned, current events, popular culture, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics in king Tut's tomb. She was like a breath of fresh air in a room full of Channel No. 5 perfume. We ended the night with a hug and the promise of seeing each other before she left for her two month voyage across Europe.

I pulled up to my house and parked the car in the garage and walked around the house to the front door just then I saw something that made me just a little queasy and the word karma quickly popped into my mind as I watch my little sister partaking in an interesting game of tonsil hockey on my front steps. How many times, on how many front porches did I find myself in that young mans shoes…although my escapades usually found my climbing in through the girl's window moments later. One thing I was sure of was that my little sister would not have any visitors coming in through her window that night, not while I was in the house. Making as much noise as I could, and having a small coughing fit behind the bushes to make myself known I walked towards them on the porch, this didn't seem to have much effect on the young couple.

"TEGAN ELIZABETH DUGREY!" Huh wow, I did not know I could get my voice to sound so much like dads. I thought as I watched the couple spring apart to separate ends of the porch and look around like rabbits during hunting season. I guess I'm not the only who though I sounded like dad.

"TRISTAN, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" She declared as she ran at me beating her fist against my chest. "You practically gave me a heart attack."

"Well when I started coughing to my death, and rattling bushes, and stomping around and that didn't get your attention I figured this was the last resort." I grinned down at her as she kept attempting to punch me, I managed to wrap one hand around both her wrists and hold her arms above her head.

"I hate you." She muttered looking at me with fake contempt.

"How about you and I watch a movie Tee and your little boyfriend can go on home I'm sure its way past his bed time." I gave him a charming smile and nodded my head in the direction of our drive way.

"I'll call you later, Tegan." He muttered quickly as he almost ran down the said driveway.

"You didn't need to do that Tristan." She exclaimed glaring at me again.

"I think you're too young to be partaking in such activities Tegan."

"What are you talking about; you started dating at like 11!"

"Yes, but I'm not a girl, you are."

"That's not fair Tristan. You can't use those double standards against me in the 21st century; for Christ sakes its 2003!"

"I can use whatever double standards I deem necessary when it comes to my baby sister and boys. I went to military school darling sister, I can crush him with my left hand while standing on one foot and doing advanced calculus."

"I hate that you're home."

"NAH! You love it!" I exclaimed wrapping my arm around her shoulders and leading her inside.

"How was your date?" She leered as we made our way towards the mini-theater in the left wing of the house.

"How was yours?" I asked smirking down at her.

"You ruin my date and I can't even inquire about yours? What kind of injustice is that Tristan Alexander?"

"Just the rules of the jungle little sis" I slumped into one of the recliner leather chairs in front of the wall sized screen as I heard Tegan rustling somewhere in the background with the DVD's. I don't think I remember what movie she put on, I fell asleep before the title of the movie rolled on screen.

--

I woke up with a crick in my neck and the smell of leather over taking my senses. I blinked a few times before registering where exactly I had passed out. Shaking my head and running my hands through my hair I unsteadily walked towards my room and fell on the bed again. I was all for the idea of passing out again until a much more reasonable hour, like one in the afternoon for example, however I was not given that option.

"Tristan, take me to the mall." A voice whined before I felt a weight at the end of the bed. I muttered into my pillow and feigned a much deeper sleep than I was actually in at that moment. "Tristaaaaan!"

"Make mom." I groaned turning over and covering my head with my comforter.

"You know very well I won't have mom drive me, and dad took the car with him, why he would do that when he is very capable of driving himself to where ever he desires, is beyond me. I mean why does he need to take the car with the driver is beyond me.

"Walk."

"Tristan please" She begged as she climbed further onto my bed.

"Tristan is sleeping right now; please leave a message after the beep."

"You are not funny."

"Insulting me isn't helping your case." I covered my face with a pillow.

"Come on Tristan, pretty pretty please!"

"This is about a boy isn't it?"

"That isn't you're business."

"Then my business isn't driving you to the mall."

"UGH! You are impossible."

"What does insulting me get you again?"

"Yes, it's about a boy, now will you take me to the mall?"

"What normal, teenage boy, in his right mind would want to meet an annoying bratty girl at the mall at…" I raised my head from under the pillow "ten in the morning?"

"One who's going to be getting—"

"No, end that right there; I don't want to know why my BABY sister is going to be doing. Better yet, never even suggest that it's a boy, say its bible study. I was fourteen not to long ago, I know what he's thinking. Hmm, do they sell chastity belts at the mall?"

"TRISTAN!"

"What? They have to sell them somewhere."

"Are you taking me?"

"You are meeting him now?"

"No, at two"

"Then damn it child why in God's name are you harassing me now?"

"'Cause I want the guarantee that you'll be taking me there when I need you to."

"Yes, yes, good, now go away and let me sleep." I felt her get off the bed and heard her feet shuffling as she walked out of the room followed by an excited squeal as she closed the door behind her. "Damn freakin' karma, I'm trying you know." I said to no one in particular. I fell back to sleep with thoughts of Rory and chastity belts.

--

The rest of the day went past in a blur of color light and sound and all I've come to realize that women should be considered a completely different species. I'm not entirely sure what occurred that day, what made her as upset as she ended up being. Why the world that was so good to me just yesterday now had turned it back on me yet again. Most of all I wanted to know why I was standing outside her house in the pouring rain unable to walk back to my car and unable to tap on her window to get her to talk to me. I really think I'll develop pneumonia before I figure out what had just occurred in the past ten hours.

I woke up at about twelve thirty and got into the shower, changed and had breakfast. That part of the day I'm sure went that way that by far was the best part of my entire day. Who knew that a bowl of Lucky Charms could be the highlight in a person's day, not even a highlight, the _high point _of a person's day? After eating I knocked on Tegan's door after a muffled 'just a minute' a loud thump, and a couple of "ouches" later she stepped out of her room.

"No"

"What do you mean no, you can't say no if there's no question being brought to the table."

"No you can't wear that out of the house. No I'm not driving you anywhere in that outfit. No you can't own those types of outfits until you are thirty and way to old to wear them. No boys will be aloud to see that much skin on your body at one time. Would you like me to continue?" I couldn't believe me little sister was wearing that outfit. Her skirt seemed like if she bent down it would leave nothing to the imagination and her shirt could actually be worn _as_ the skirt if she wanted. Did I date these girls at her age? Weren't these the kinds of girls I chased after for so many years, weren't these the same girls who I brought to my house to do with as I pleased in the privacy of my own room. "Go change."

"Tristan"

"No"

"I HATE YOU!" Slamming door. Loud unnecessary sigh. Thump. Crash. Slam. Loud yell. "Better?" She asked glaring at me, her eyes looked glassy as if she was fighting her very hardest to hold back the tears that were just about to spill over and ruin her overly made up face. I wasn't even going to start on the make up, one battle at a time. Right?

She looked more like my sister, a grown up adult version of my sister, but my little sister none the less. She wore some ripped jeans from Abercrombie and a tank top, but at least it was an entire tank top this time that covered her entire torso. My little sister was entirely to pretty to be related to me, I couldn't keep going through this with her.

At some point that morning I had texted Rory and asked her to meet me in the Barnes & Noble at the mall around 2:30. She said she'd be there and I hadn't really thought of that conversation much for the rest of the morning. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I was meeting her but that was thrown on the back burner as the problem of one very upset younger sister sat in my car at the exact moment.

"Look Tee…" I tried to get her to talk to me, I had to figure out a way to explain to her that she didn't need to look like a pussy cat doll or Paris Hilton to be excepted by boys but how do I do that with out sounding hypocritical. She was 14 the age where everything can be turned into an insult and what boys think can mean more than ones own self worth. I know that to be true, I'm sure I lowered a girls self worth on more than one occasion not something I would particularly proud of but it happened I was young and stupid.

I started the car and drove out of our driveway, she wouldn't look at me. Her eyes were focused on the road in front of her. I watched her bite in the inside of her lip most likely telling herself not to cry over and over again in her mind. We drove in silence for ten minutes as I fiddled with the radio trying to come up with a way to explain to her what I wanted to say with out coming off as an ass. I groaned inwardly wondering how people did this, express their emotions in a calm and collected manner, so frequently with out causing any serious injuries.

I finally just couldn't take the uneasy silence that was slowly filling the Porsche. "Tegan," she didn't look at me, she continued to stare out the window, but I knew she was listening, what choice did she really have? "Look, I know you're mad at me, and I know you're upset that I made you change but I did it for a reason." We were getting closer to the mall now and if I didn't explain myself now I feared she'd jump out of the car before I got the chance. "I get that right now is a really difficult time, you want to be excepted in school, you want boys to like you, you want the boys that _you_ like to like you back. I know that you see girls dressing like that all the time, and most of your friends might dress like that but you don't have to Tegan. You're such a smart and beautiful girl that dressing like a slut doesn't add anything to you. I get that you want to get guys attention, but that's the wrong kind of attention that you'd be getting. You don't want guys to look at you and think, 'well she's easy I'm sure I could get with her and then just move on.' You want guys that will stick around, that would want to spend time with you. I know you want to impress your boyfriend, but Tee if he doesn't know how amazing you are when you're actually wearing clothing then he's just not worth it. I know you're sitting there thinking that I'm being hypocritical that you remember seeing the girls I dated and that they dressed like sluts but look who I fell for. Rory was always so innocent, so smart and witty and she always wore clothing! Unfortunately, I couldn't get her to look at me in high school because of my reputation. You shouldn't have to fight off a bad reputation for the next four years Tee."

I took a breath after my rant. I hadn't realized that during that time I had actually gotten to the mall and parked the car. My little sister turned to me half way through that and actually seemed to listen to what I had to say. She looked over at me and gave me a weak smile. "Wait with me until Shawn shows up?"

"Sure" I said smiling back at her. We walked towards the mall and I noticed the sky had gotten dark gray a sure sign of a huge rain storm. I was a little excited I had always loved thunderstorms, especially in the summer. I loved watching the lightening light up the sky while I read a book. Yeah I realize that most people would never believe that about me, but on occasion I did do other things than just chase skirts and get trashed. Tegan and I had walked towards the food court where she was supposed to me this Shawn character. Barnes & Nobel was just near by so if this kid was running late I didn't have to sprint half way across the mall to meet Rory on time. "And Tegan"

"Yeah?"

"Next time you do you're make up like a clown make sure to wear the red nose as well." I said sticking my tongue out at her. She hit my arm glaring at me.

"You're funny you know that. Real comedian we have here."

"I know I know. Seriously though, it's a little heavy, next time just some mascara and lip gloss 'kay?"

"How do you even know about make up?"

"I know about lots of girl stuff. Things you probably don't even think I know about." Looking around I thought I saw Rory, coffee brown hair, a tank top and a pair of jeans. It looked just simple enough to be her but I couldn't tell for sure. She was walking in this general direction but at the same time so was someone else.

"SHAWN" I heard her squeal beside me as she practically jumped up at the sight of him. As he reached us and noticed my presence he gave her a hug and quickly stepped away from her as he kept his attention on me. She was practically beaming at this kid and he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her either. Damn good genes I need to build her a tower and lock her up or something. "Shawn this is my older brother Tristan. Tristan this is my…" she glanced over at him quickly and smiled "boyfriend, Shawn."

"Nice to meet you, I didn't realize Tegan had an older brother." He said trying to keep his voice steady I took the hand he had held out as good breading taught both of us to do.

"Yeah, I just got back from military school." I smiled over at him as I watched his eyes grow a little wider. "You two kids have fun, are you going to need a ride home Tegan?" She glanced over at her boyfriend, oh I didn't like that word, and he shook his head slightly.

"No, I'm good. Thank you for driving me though." She reached over and gave me a hug and I held her a little tighter then usual bending down I told her "if his hands go anywhere you don't want them too just poke him in the eyes and the knee him in the groin." She giggled as she smacked my arm pulling away.

"Thanks Tristan, you can leave now."

"I'll see you at home."

"Bye." She said clearly hinting at how badly she wanted me out of her sight. I watched her grab the guys hand as they both walked into the crowd of people heading in the opposite direction from me.

I looked around the mall expecting to see Rory there but she was no where to be found so I headed towards the Barnes & Nobel. I did a quick survey of the store and realized she wasn't here yet. I could have sworn that was her, maybe she stopped at another store along the way to pick something up for her trip. I shrugged to myself and started scanning the book titles around me, occasionally scanning the back cover of a book that had gotten my attention.

I must have been there for hours, days, weeks; time stopped and went by very quickly all at once. I'm not sure what happened I kept looking at the door from the overly stuffed chair that I had taken over half an hour after I walked through the doors. I stared at them intently willing her to walk through them and notice me. Sheer will however doesn't change the truth, doesn't change what actually is occurring and what I wanted to occur. She wasn't the next person to walk in, or the next one, or the one after that. She didn't show up. No phone call, telegram, carrier pigeon, smoke signal, nothing. I'm not sure what happened in between the time I sent her the text message and now but somewhere in between that time, she had disappeared. I'm not sure what I could have done, with out seeing her or speaking to her that would make her act this way. Yesterday was amazing, perfect even and now, nothing.

I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I sat in that chair until the store closed and I got shooed out by the employees who had other places to be. It was only 9 o'clock and I sure as hell wasn't about to go home. I knew she lived in Stars Hollow, so I got into my car and sped off in the direction of her home town. I was fuming; different scenarios kept coming up in my mind. What reasoning could she have that wouldn't have kept her from the store. Did she get into an accident? Was there a family emergency? Did she get kidnapped? Each scenario was worse than the one before, but none of them explained why didn't just take the five seconds to call or text me and explain why she couldn't make it. I would have understood.

By then the rain clouds that had threatened to spill over that afternoon opened up and all at once rain came crashing down around me. Hard pelting rain that barley let me see the road out ahead as my windshield wipers went crazy. I continued to drive though I knew I should have pulled over in that kind of weather. I was too frustrated, too confused to stop driving. I barley saw the sign to get off of the expressway and get of at Stars Hollow, I barley saw the Giant Rooster the signaled my right turn towards her house. I hadn't been in this town in over two years but it seemed as though timed stopped around here and nothing changed. I was fortunate for the heavy rain and the darkness that kept the townsfolk from seeing my expensive shiny car roll through their streets and park in a more hidden area. I walked through the pouring rain around their town, keeping my head down and avoiding any people. I found a bridge some where in the woods near her house and sat down as I watched the water droplets hit the water underneath the bridge. The water level was slowly raising, and I sat there for a long enough time that I actually noticed a difference in the water level. I was soaked to the bone, and I was cold and miserable but I couldn't get myself to leave this town until I saw her, until I knew she was okay. Once I found out that she was okay I had every intention of shaking her until she explained why she didn't show up with out a phone call. It was a quarter to eleven and I decided it was now or never.

So maybe I used now or never in a more general sense as it was now a quarter to midnight and I still hadn't made it to her door step. I stood near her drive way leaning against a tree willing my feet to move but they didn't seem to want to comply with my general wishes. Move. Walk. GO! Nothing. My body defied me refusing to move forward or backward. I was stuck in this unknowing limbo and it was driving me crazy. The rain let up but only just enough so that I could see with a five foot distance in front of me. I heard the rumble of thunder and realized that soon this down pour would turn into a thunder storm and standing under a tree was most likely the worst idea I had ever had. Taking a deep breath I headed towards her front porch. I rang the doorbell before I managed to talk myself out of it and I stood there hoping against all hope that no one would answer the door and at the same time wishing that she would hurry up and answer all at once.

I saw lights turning on as she neared the front door. I was shivering at this point, uncontrollable shaking. I don't know if it was my nerves or the fact that I had been in the rain for a very long time and was now soaked and feeling like crap. I heard her unlocking the locks and slowly opening the door. She looked angry, or upset I couldn't quite tell but it was getting harder to see.

"Tristan what—"

It looked like I was looking at her from another end of a tunnel and I felt my head go light.

"Tristan, oh my, are you okay…"

Then everything went black.


	5. Can't Go Wrong With Pirates

_Chapter Five: You Can't Go Wrong With Pirates._

I'm not quite sure how long I was 'out'; all I know is that I woke up to a compress being pressed to my head and soft hands running through my hair. I blinked a few times before looking up at Rory.

"Rory…" I started but thinking was a little difficult.

"Tristan you're okay. Thank God." Then she smacked my arm. "Don't ever do that to me again!" She glared down at me but I knew she wasn't serious. I looked around me she had pulled me into her foyer I guess she probably couldn't carry me much further. She put a pillow under my head too it felt a little sore and I was sure I'd have a bump there for a while to remember this lovely day by.

"How long was I…?"

"Not to long five minutes or so. You took a pretty nasty fall. You scared the crap out of me." She whispered. I realized she was still playing with my hair. I also realized I was still shaking, this time I was sure it was from the cold and my wet clothing. "You're soaked lets get you out of these clothes." I raised my eyebrow at her. "Not a word." She said glaring at me for a moment before helping me up to me feet. It took me a couple of tries but I was standing fine no signs of being light headed. I stripped out of my button up, t-shirt, wife beater, and jeans and threw them into the dryer. Rory stood there with a large band t-shirt and a pair of men's sweatpants. "The shirt's my moms, and the pants are some my dad left the last time he stayed over. I hope they fit." The shirt was a little tight but nothing I couldn't deal with.

I sat on her couch with a blanket wrapped around me as she bustled around the kitchen making coffee. She came back with two steaming cups and handed me one. I took a sip and I already felt the warmth spread through me. She sat on the couch as well, her back against the arm rest, knees up to her chest. She was wearing Yale sweatpants and a black wife beater her hair was up in a loose ponytail. She looked gorgeous.

"What happened?" she asked as I slowly sipped my coffee.

"I hadn't eaten in about twelve hours and I spent the better part of the past three hours in the rain." I stared down at my coffee cup. "I'm hypoglycemic, if I don't eat I get light headed, sometimes I pass out. It hasn't happened in a long time but I guess I just forgot to eat today."

She nodded slowly for a bit drinking her own coffee. "Why were you in the rain for the past 3 hours?"

"I couldn't get the nerve to come and talk to you." I muttered to my reflection in the coffee. "I wasn't sure why you didn't show up today and I didn't know what you were thinking and I was scared of rejection."

"You don't know why I didn't show up?" She asked her brow scrunching up in confusion.

"No, I thought I saw you but then you were gone and I sat in Barnes & Nobel until close and you never showed up. God that sounded pathetic. I just expected a call or a text or something but I got nothing."

"You did see me, and I saw you with another girl." What girl was she talking about? "She was gorgeous and blonde and–" Oh.

"Rory," I reached over and grabbed her hand she looked up at me, "you saw me with my little sister, Tegan." I saw her eyes go wide with understanding, then shock, than embarrassment.

"I guess I thought you were with her, and I got jealous. I was stupid, I knew I was being stupid and over reacting. We're not together you have no ties to me but I got upset and I just turned around and left. It was stupid." She ranted looking down at her coffee mug.

I set my mug down and moved closer on the couch to her. Reaching over I took the mug out of her hands and set it down the coffee table as well. She looked up at me then her blue eyes wide with innocence staring into my own. I grabbed both her hands in mine and decided this would be a good time to lay the cards out on the table.

"Rory, I like you. I'm not trying to screw up this… thing we've got going here. You gave me a second chance time and time again and I have a feeling this may be my last second chance. I don't want to screw this up. I don't want you running away from me." I reached over to my soggy wallet and pulled out a rather wet photograph of my family. Something my parents deemed necessary, family portraits to pretend like we're the all American, great family. It was fake, and posed and completely unnatural. "Those are my parents, and my fourteen year old sister Tegan." I said as I handed her the picture.

"Oh," she looked down at the picture and smiled weakly "she's pretty."

"Yes she is," I put the picture on the coffee table figuring it was a fruitless effort to put it back in the wet wallet. "I want to try this, I want to try us, and I want us to work." I looked her in the eye and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I want us to work too." She replied just above a whisper. "I'm sorry I ran, again."

"No more running?"

"No more running." She replied nodding her head. I leaned over and gave her a chaste kiss; I felt her lips move under mine in response before she pulled away.

"Is your mom home?" I asked realizing how late it was and that no adult had graced us with their presence.

"She went over to her friend Sookie's house and the storm started so she called to say she'd sit it out over there."

I nodded in response feeling the beginning of an awkward silence creep in. "I guess I should go."

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere, you're clothing is still drying, you just passed out moments ago and if the power goes out I'm not going to be alone." She said sternly. I laughed a little at this.

"Sold"

"Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure."

She climbed off of the couch and moments later placed a DVD into the player. I had no idea what I was in for but I let her to it. I didn't really care what DVD was going to play I was just glad that I got to spend time with her. The opening scene of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' came on and I relaxed a little.

"You can't go wrong with pirates." She stated.

"Agreed"

She sat on the other end of the couch stiffly and awkwardly facing the T.V. I couldn't stand the awkward tension that seemed to fill the room. Looking over at her I caught her eye and she blushed slightly. I loved that I could still make her blush with out doing anything. "Come here." I stated raising my arm and gesturing for her to get underneath my blanket. She scooted over and I pulled her against my side covering her with the blanket as I felt her cuddle closer to me. I felt her body relax against mine after a few minutes and went back to watching the movie as I felt my hand lazily start playing with her hair.

The movie credits rolled across the screen and I looked down at Rory, her head was in my lap and she was stretched across the couch. She had fallen asleep and her chest was raising and falling at even intervals. She looked so peaceful I felt like I was intruding on something I shouldn't be witnessing. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with myself at this point. The storm was still going full force outside, at the same time though my clothing was dry and Rory was asleep. What a freaking conundrum. I tried to get out from underneath Rory with out waking her up but that proved to be a little difficult.

"No moving." She muttered as she readjusted herself on the couch. "Pillows don't move."

"Rory, I need to go."

"No." I'm not sure if she sleep talked, if she was awake at the moment or if she was in the limbo stage of not being either fully awake or fully asleep. "Sleep." I sighed and stretched out behind her pulling her in towards my chest. She cuddled into my embrace and was back to sleep in a heartbeat. I'm not sure quite how long I took to fall asleep but the last thought I know I had was just how well she fit into my arms.

--

I woke up to the sound of whispers coming from the kitchen. I blinked a few times trying to figure out where I was and what I was doing there. Rory's house? Check. Rory's couch? Check. Rory? No. I sat up on the couch trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes and also locate a clock somewhere in the vicinity, 9:30 stared back at me from their cable box. Six hours isn't bad. I heard footsteps coming in my direction from the kitchen.

"Good morning sleepy head."

"'Morning"

"Sleep well?"

"Mhm."

"You are clearly a morning person aren't you?" She smiled at me.

"Humph."

"Okay then, there's an extra tooth brush in the bathroom and mom made coffee and pop tarts. We'll probably be heading over to Luke's shortly so if you want to go wash up I can grab you you're clothing from the dryer."

"Uh huh." I really didn't function to well this time of day, smiling and nodding seemed to make the most sense in the situation.

"The bathroom is just down the hall and to your left."

With that she turned and headed for their laundry room. I groggily got up and felt the throbbing in my head that I didn't feel last night. I rubbed the back of my head feeling the bump from where I most likely hit my head. Ouch. I ducked into the bathroom and leaning on the sink stared at my reflection. I looked like hell. I grabbed the unwrapped toothbrush and brushed my teeth then washed my face. I leaned down under the drain and wet my hair and tussling it around before standing back up. That's about as good as I'm getting today. I hadn't closed the door to the bathroom so Rory knocked on the frame.

"Here is your clothing, there's a towel on the back of the door you can use if you want to grab a shower." She stated looking at the water still dripping down my neck from my hair.

"That would be great thanks, I wont take to long."

She smiled at me and handed my clothing over to me. With that she walked away closing the door behind her.

I felt a lot better after I got out of the shower, I loved that about showers. Their ability to wake someone up and make them feel refreshed and relaxed. I walked out of the bathroom and towards the kitchen. I looked at the two women sitting at the table and laughing amongst themselves.

"Good Morning," they both looked up at me as if they forgot I was even in the house. "I'm Tristan, thank you so much for letting me crash in your house." I said addressing Rory's mom. I reached my hand out to her.

She shook it momentarily. "Lorelai," She replied giving me a once over and smirking in the direction of her daughter. "It was no problem at all, plus I wasn't really here to say no either way. Not like I mind. So are you ready for Luke's? I hear that if we don't get you fed you might pass out again, and that's just not going to fit in to well with my schedule."

"Mom! Don't be mean to him." She stood and carried her cup of coffee towards the sink. "Are you ready Tristan?"

"Yeah," I had never been as confused as I had been after the conversation with Lorelai I really had no idea what had just happened. I walked back towards the living room and grabbed my wallet and keys off of the coffee table. I followed the Gilmore girls out of the house as they strolled towards Luke's, whatever that was. The day was sunny, blue skies and not a cloud to be seen. I was walking a little behind the two girls as they seemed lost in their own conversation. Finally it seemed that Rory realized I wasn't up their with them and turned and said something to her mother. Who, in turn, winked and walked away as Rory waited for me to catch up.

"I told my mom we'd meet her at the diner."

"Diner?"

"Luke's!"

"Oh, okay." I looked down at her as she stood their fidgeting with her hands. She seemed to have changed but it was good to know that some things would always stay the same.

"Want to go for a walk?"

"I'd like that."

"I promise it won't be to long, I can't carry you very far and if you pass out in the street it would just cause a scene."

"Oh shut up." I replied sticking my tongue out at her. "You're not being very nice." We started walking down the street towards the bridge I had sat on during the storm last night. We walked in a comfortable silence which was occasionally broken by Rory saying 'Hi' to a neighbor or actually anyone who walked past us. Finally reaching the bridge we sat down with our feet dangling over the edge staring off at the water.

"Are you okay?" She asked concern lacing her voice as she glanced at me from under her lashes.

"I'm great." I replied nodding.

"Are umm… are we…" she took a deep breath "Are we okay?" She was staring at her feet dangling above the water. I reached over and took her hand in mine giving it a gentle squeeze.

"We're great too." She finally looked up and over at me smiling. Her smile just lights up her face and because of that made me smile too, it was contagious.

"I slept really well last night." She said a blush creeping over her cheeks.

"Did you now?" I raised my eyebrow at her and smirked. She glared back smacking my arm. "I slept well too."

"I just… I just got out of a relationship that ended kind of randomly. I want us to work, and I want to give this my all but we're going to have to go slowly. I just can't jump straight into something after just ending a relationship where the guy skipped town with out saying a word to me."

"He's a jerk Rory, and if he can't see that then he doesn't deserve you. Furthermore, if you want this, really and truly want this the only way you're getting rid of me is if _you_ skip town, and even then I'm bound to follow you. We can go as slow as you'd like Ror I told you that I don't want to screw this up with you." I pulled her close to my side and wrapped my arms around her hugging her to my chest as I kissed the top of her head. "Just know that if you want to jump, I'll be there to catch you." She leaned her head up and gave me a small smile, she mouthed thank you before kissing the side of my mouth.

Pulling out of my grasp she stood up and held her hand out to me. "It would totally suck if you passed out into the water and drowned. I've never been registered as a life guard. Let's go get you some food."

"Will you ever stop with your 'passing out' comments?" I asked as I stood up grabbing her hand and lacing my fingers through hers.

"Until you do something else that's mock worthy!"

"Good to know I'm used for something."

"You're finally catching on DuGrey, I'm impressed." She grinned at me as she walked a little closer to me. "Took you this long though."

"You're funny did you know that? A real comedian."

"I know, I was asked to have my own show on Comedy Central but I turned them down. My education was just too important." She looked down in mock sadness.

"You're insane Gilmore."

"I know." She smiled up at me. "That's what makes me so adorable."

"Keep that up and you're going to be going through doors sideways with that ego."

We had ended up in front of Luke's diner and Rory gave me a serious look as she turned to face me. "Just make sure that Luke doesn't scare you off. He sometimes gets a bit protective of me and my mother. So don't touch me, be polite, and make sure you get vegetables…or maybe tea…maybe both? Just play nice!" She looked up with wide eyes.

"Don't worry about it Rory he'll like me, and if he doesn't that won't change the fact that I like you so he'll get used to it." I opened the door for her and let her in front of me as she scanned the diner for her mother. She found her by the window at a table arguing with some man in flannel and a backwards baseball cap.

"Lorelei you can not eat chocolate chip pancakes and a cheeseburger with fries!"

"Why not, I missed breakfast and it's about lunch time and I want both meals!"

"You won't be able to finish it all."

"Want to bet?" She glared at the man and he glared back as Rory and I slipped into our seats.

"Luke, you realize that now that you've said that she'll eat it all just to prove you wrong, and tonight I'm going to be up with her while she moans and groans about how much her stomach hurts and why I didn't stop her from eating all that food." Lorelei was nodding her head enthusiastically as Rory said all this. "So if you just give her both and let her eat what she wants it'll save us both a lot of time and mental anguish." Luke seemed to sigh in defeat. "I will be having apple pie and a burger, and fries, oh and banana bread French toast!"

He turned his attention to me and grunted in my general direction. "Coke, cheeseburger, and fries." I looked down at my hands not sure what to do with myself at this point. There was a beat before both Rory and Lorelei concluded that they wanted coffee as well. Luke walked away finally and I looked up to see both Gilmore girls grinning at me.

"Is someone scared of Luke?" Rory taunted.

"You were talking about how this man hates any guy that touches you. I didn't think making eye contact would be appropriate."

"Luke will come around in his own time; as long as you don't hurt her he'll have no problem with you." Lorelai informed me. "Did you know that he put Dean in a headlock?"

"Mom, now you're just trying to scare him."

"Maybe just a little" Rory reached over and grabbed my hand giving it a quick squeeze; I looked at her and smirked. This girl was going to be the death of me, and if the way Luke keeps looking at me is an indication, my death would be coming much sooner than expected.

Eventually Luke brought over our food and as expected Lorelei only took a couple of bites of her pancakes before announcing she was no longer in the mood for breakfast food and ate the rest of her food. Rory however managed to eat everything she ordered and some of her mom's pancakes. I think I was in physical pain from watching the two of them eat. It was a really enjoyable meal and completely intrigued me to watch the relationship between Rory and her mother. None of my friends ever had parents that they got along with let alone enjoyed spending time with. These two however really were best friends as well as mother and daughter. It was refreshing to witness.

After brunch I decided it was probably time for me to head home since I did crash on their couch and hadn't been home since about 1:30 yesterday. I leaned against the driver's door and taking her hand pulled her towards me so she stood between my legs.

"I'm glad I passed out on your doorstep." I said as I kissed the bottom of her palm.

"Me too" She said smiling shyly at me.

I glanced at my watch 11:30, not bad. "What are you doing tonight Rory?"

"Uhh" she looked up most likely doing a scan of her plans "I think my mom and I are going shopping but I should be free after six."

"I'll pick you up at eight then."

"What are we doing?"

"You'll see." I leaned over and kissed her softly. "Dress casually."

"M'kay." She said her eyes still closed from the kiss, I leaned down then and kissed her again. Pulling away I gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"See you tonight." I pulled away and finally letting go of her opened my car door.

"Later."

This was defiantly not a bad way to start my day though.


End file.
